Next Stop, Happiness
by NaNa501
Summary: Naruto unexpectedly finds Sasuke just outside of Konoha's gates. He's held in custody, and an interrogator is assigned to save his life. Will she be able to save him or will the elders sentence him to death?
1. Chapter 1

_Child Without Equal._

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><p>"Everything looks good. They'll probably let you go tomorrow morning." The man smiled happily at hearing the good news.<p>

"Thank you!" Without responding to him, she exited the room and took a deep breath in, and then let it out. That was the thirteenth patient she checked today.

It was nearly midnight but Kimiko wasn't planning on going home anytime soon.

The sixteen year old medical-nin loved being in the hospital.

Ever since she was twelve, it was a dream to be working alongside with someone like Tsunade, whose ability as a medical-nin was astonishing. And now here she was, living her dream.

Wanting to get a drink to quench her thirst, she made her way down the hallway. Here, here is where Kimiko's home was.

The smell of antiseptic didn't bother her at all, it was almost comforting. The blank walls were the way Kimiko liked everything, clean and simple.

She adored every single detail.

"Kimiko!" She heard a faint shout but the footsteps grew louder. "KIMIKO!"

Her ruby eyes fluttered when she realized who it was, and not to mention the heavy desperation that was carried out in his voice. It was Naruto, but what was he doing up at midnight?

He came running in, carrying someone who was heavily wounded. "Kimiko! I need your help!"

His blonde hair stuck to his face as he panted for air. A few scraps and cuts could be seen on his face but it was nothing to the damage the man in his hands had.

Instinctively, she ran down the halls and opened the door to one of the empty rooms. It was a routine thing every time someone was brought to the hospital: You lay them down and determine how badly they were injured. By that time, you're carrying their lives in your hands.

"Naruto, do you know this man?" Instead of facing him, she washed her hands and put on gloves.

But there was no answer, so she assumed he didn't. The man's whole body, even his face was drenched in blood. Luckily, he only had one severe injury, all the rest being minor. Kimiko didn't bother with things like rubbing alcohol to clean the wound. If she took the time to do that, he would probably die before she could even start to heal him.

She focused and soon there was green chakra covering her hands. Her eyebrows furrowed as she placed her hands over his biggest wound, a nasty stab at the side. Kimiko was trying to concentrate but something bothered her. Naruto had been quiet this whole time, which was very unlike him.

She shook it off, and when she was finished healing the biggest wound, Kimiko turned to face Naruto. "So what happened anyway?" He remained frozen as she grabbed a towel soaked in water to cleanse the patient's face. All Naruto did was stare at the man's face in anger.

With one swipe, her hand stopped.

He did know him. No, everybody knew him. This man was well known in Konoha, even all around the world.

It was the missing-nin, Sasuke Uchiha.


	2. Chapter 2

_Encounter Between Two Prodigies._

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><p>"Naruto…" Her voice was stern and she slowly turned her head to face the blonde. "What the hell are you thinking?"<p>

All her life, she was raised to follow the laws and act accordingly to them. She was pretty sure 'help a missing-nin' wasn't on the list of things shinobis should do. For a second, she even thought of killing the famous Uchiha right then and there. What was Tsunade going to say when she finds out her apprentice aided the criminal?

The blue eyed boy didn't say anything; he just glared at the lifeless Sasuke. He looked hurt, and almost confused. That's right, Naruto and Sasuke would always fight but that didn't mean they didn't care about each other. She knew he had so many things he needed answers to, and Sasuke was the only person he wanted to hear it from.

But she would never understand that. What made Naruto so needy to save someone like _him_? It almost made her mad that he wasted his time worrying about an outlaw like Sasuke. Naruto was one of the very few people Kimiko could stand to be around. Sure they were polar opposites, but his enthusiasm and determination amazed her. He could be bleeding to death and he would still be able to smile and say he was okay.

"I thought it was Sasuke you were carrying back." The two young shinobi's eyes widened upon hearing the intimidating voice. They turned around, meeting face to face with the legendary Hokage herself. "Explain. _Now_."

Kimiko's red eyes darted over to the Uchiha's motionless body, and then over to Naruto who seemed a bit angered. "I found Sasuke at Konoha's entrance." He couldn't hold his blue eyes up to meet the Hokage's. "He was badly injured, so I-"

"Naruto brought him here and I voluntarily healed him." Her small hands balled up into tight fists, frustrated at herself. How could she not have noticed it was Sasuke from the start? None the less, it was her fault for being so careless and she was ready to take responsibility for it. "I'm the one at fault."

His eyebrows furrowed together, clearly confused as to why Kimiko was taking the blame. "No, _I'm_ the one that brought him here!" One of his biggest problems with her was how mature she was. In his opinion, Kimiko was too adult like for her own good.

"But he would be dead if I didn't help him." She threw Naruto a cold look, shutting him up for a second. "My deepest apologies, Tsunade-Sama."

The elder lady eyed the two partners in crime trying to burn holes into each other's heads. "And what was the Uchiha doing at Konoha's entrance?"

Her ruby orbs fluttered when she saw how his jaw locked tight. The fearless Uzumaki was lying. There was a part to his story that he was keeping a secret, and it was obvious that Tsunade was the last one he wanted to tell. "…I don't know."

A sigh escaped the Hokage's pulled back lips. She was clearly getting irritated by his ambiguous answers. "We're putting Sasuke in jail. Kimiko, expect extra hours of work over the next few weeks as punishment." Naruto was about to protest but stopped when the young girl pulled him back. "As for you Naruto, know you could _never_ become Hokage if you risk Konoha's safety like this."

Her harsh words hit him pretty hard, it was obvious by the way hung his head. "Yes Tsunade-Sama." Kimiko bowed politely and couldn't believe how much trouble the Uchiha caused, even when he was unconscious.

* * *

><p>"Your ability as a medical-nin is astounding." The busy, middle-aged woman praised her student. "But you also are a decent interrogator."<p>

Silently, the kunoichi stood there, waiting for the punishment for last night's episode. "So you'll be the inquisitor for all of this. I want you to find out everything Sasuke knows, whether it be the Akatsuki or what actually happened last night."

Kimiko knew Naruto begged on his knees to let Sasuke live. She knew her teacher would never agree into letting a missing-nin back into Konoha easily. But being annoyingly persistent, he must have successfully managed to pull out a sign of approval from her. "In all honesty, the elders want Sasuke executed right away."

The pupil's stare grew harder, wondering how Naruto would react if he heard this. "So I asked them to wait just a while. Actually, I told them I'm on Sasuke's side, and I would have an argument ready as soon as possible."

Her black eyebrows knitted together and she held back her disapproving look.

"I know, you probably think I'm a hypocrite."

'_More like insane…'_

"But I feel like Sasuke can be saved. And you, Kimiko Emi, will be the one to do so." Tsunade handed her a charcoal notebook that had a couple of notes jotted down on the first few pages. "Follow the map in here and you'll reach where Sasuke's being confined."

That's right, they wouldn't be so careless as to putting someone like him behind a few poles of metal.

"We have an abundant amount of medical-nin right now so don't worry about having to help out at the hospital." Even Tsunade didn't fully understand that Kimiko enjoyed just being inside of a hospital. "Make sure to read everything and try not to get the villagers' attention."

That wouldn't be hard considering most of the people were scared to make eye contact with her. "Yes ma'am." With that, she left and opened the notebook to find scribbles consuming the page.

_Main goal: Stop Sasuke from getting executed._

It was written in large red letters, making it stick in her head as a visual memory.

_Don't tell anyone of his arrival. We have him confined in a vacant place for a reason. This would only cause the village to panic, and that's the last thing we need right now. Here's a list of people that know, excluding you and me:_

_Naruto, Kakashi, and the elders._

'_So the famous Hatake did find out…'_ She thought, wondering how he felt about this.

_As you may know, Sasuke Uchiha won't be an easy one to crack. Don't think time is against you, that'll only make you overlook the most obvious observations. Report back to me when you find out something interesting. Good luck._

Her eyes scanned down to the bottom of the page, finding random notes.

_We put a seal on Sasuke, so his chakra is at a low 20% of what he usually has._

_He woke up this morning and surprisingly didn't struggle to escape._

She turned the page and saw a poorly drawn map. Still, she managed to follow it and ended up in an empty field of grass. No buildings, no humans, no nothing.

"Ah, you must be Kimiko." A deep voice said, and then everything came to view. Smart, they must have sealed it to make everything invisible to the naked eye.

The building was no bigger than her living room. What surprised her most was the amount of ANBU guarding it just on the outside. How powerful was this Uchiha anyway?

"Yes, that's me." He led her over to the building.

Kimiko almost felt overwhelmed by the amount of chakra she felt. They must have created multiple barriers around it, strong ones too. The ANBU created an opening for her and she stepped inside, thanking him quietly.

If there was a portal to hell, this would be a good example of what it could look like.

Since there were no windows in this plain box, no natural light could peek in. She spotted four candles lighting the room, one in each corner. The way it faintly lit up the ANBU masks crept her out.

"Ridiculous…" She quickly made herself over to a corner, taking the candle with her.

"Hey! Don't-" One of the ANBU started to protest but Kimiko cut him off.

"Light isn't going to make this guy any stronger. What's the big deal?" That seemed to shut him up nicely. She heard the other ANBU shifting uncomfortably at her outburst. She ignored it and her orbs, the color of fresh blood, flew from wall to wall, taking in her surroundings. "This is obviously _not_ going to help the guy get comfortable. "

"Who said I needed comfort?" She could almost hear him smirk.

With a careful extend of her hand, his pale face was illuminated dimly. She only made eye contact for a few seconds before looking away.

"Sasuke Uchiha…" She ignored the comment and circled around the heavily constricted criminal. His legs were chained to the ground, _twice_. His hands seemed to be tied behind by what seemed like very thin metal. Struggle too hard in those and your hands were as good as gone. "The famous prodigy."

She lowered the flame, seeing his bare chest covered in scars. Her eyes inspected the deep wound she aided yesterday, seeing it was just a faint line now.

"I think you know why I'm here." Kimiko bent down, coming to eye level with him.

He didn't respond and just stared with those empty onyx eyes.

"Hurry up and ask him questions. What was Tsunade thinking sending a little girl like you? Can't even do your job right…" It was the same ANBU from before, the one she gave attitude to.

The interrogator slowly stood up and laughed to herself. Actually, she was a bit impressed that he had the guts to say something like that to her. Most people knew not to get into an argument with her, knowing she had a rather sharp tongue. She opened her mouth to retort but surprisingly, Sasuke beat her to it.

"Interrogators try to warm the convict up first so they feel more at ease with revealing things." His face still remained calm and emotionless. "You're one clueless ANBU."

"You little-!" The other ANBU held the man back from stomping over to Sasuke, who just sat there with a victorious smirk plastered onto his face.

"Huh…" Kimiko looked down at Sasuke and raised a brow. "Maybe we will get along after all. We're more alike than I thought."

"Don't flatter yourself, I just hate the ignorant."

She squinted, wondering whether to call him arrogant or cold.

"Well then, that's enough for one day." With her hand, she set the candle next to Sasuke's still body. "Try not to aggravate the ANBU when I'm gone. I don't want to miss a fight between you two."

The girl rose and walked out of the container with the help of the man that let her in.

Then the ANBU standing around saw it, and were shocked.

Neither of _them_ noticed it, but for a split second, there was a minuscule smile on the faces of the two coldest people of Konoha.


	3. Chapter 3

_Ninety Two Seconds, And It's Checkmate._

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><p>"Happy to see me again?" It had been three days since Sasuke was held in this box, making this her third visit.<p>

"Ecstatic." The Uchiha's sarcastic reply had nowhere to travel to in this closed room.

Everything looked the same way it always did: Dark and surrounded by far too many ANBU. Or that's just what Kimiko thought anyway. She easily underestimated everyone, and so she didn't believe Sasuke was all that powerful.

"I hope you don't mind, I have a few questions for you." The interrogator didn't care if he minded or not, she was going to force the answers out of him either way. If she didn't get them, Tsunade wouldn't be so happy. And if the Hokage's not happy, _no one_ is happy.

But Kimiko wasn't clueless, she knew Sasuke would be a hard one to crack. Anyone would be able to tell by taking one good look at his emotionless face. Plus, he completely refused to answer all the questions yesterday, making the visit completely useless.

"_Do you have any information on the Akatsuki?"_

"_I forget what sunlight looks like."_

"_That's not relevant. I asked you if you have any information on the Akatsuki."_

"_Hn."_

But today, she was determined to make the Hokage proud.

"Why were you near Konoha anyway?"

Asking straight forward questions without figuring the criminal out first was a stupid move in any interrogator's book. But Kimiko always tweaked the rules around, doing everything however she wanted to. Besides, the Uchiha wasn't one to open up with anyone anyway. So she decided to take her chances and just see what happens. But no way in hell does that mean she came here unprepared. After hours of thinking yesterday, she found one tiny flaw that he had.

He was absolutely predictable when he was around society. Just like Tsunade had told her in the past, he was most likely like any other S-ranked criminal.

"_Most S-ranked criminals won't speak with words, but with actions. Reading body language is key, so watch their reactions."_

And he did exactly what Kimiko wanted for him to do. The ravenette turned his head, completely ignoring the question.

'_So predictable.' _Her maroon spheres studied his facial expression.

"Do you remember who saved you?"

The two sat there in silence, one waiting for the other to answer, and one taking a deep breath in. There was a twinkle in her eyes when they caught another clue.

His breathing finally relaxed, allowing Kimiko to make sure she was correct.

"The famous Uchiha huh…" Her slender frame stood, and she circled around him, almost tauntingly. "You look pretty pathetic to me."

There, he inhaled again, his nose slightly flaring as he did so.

'_Bingo.'_

Suddenly, her hand dove for the pen and made two quick notes.

_Takes a deep breath in whenever he's mad._

_Didn't seem so happy when I asked him if he knew who saved him._

"Just kidding." Her humor was dark and frightening, even enough to make Sasuke feel uneasy. "Now why don't you tell me this? Why did you get mad when I asked you if you knew who saved you?"

It was obvious what she had said surprised him, she could see his gaze intensify.

"Hmm? I asked you a question, so answer." There were only a rare select of people Kimiko respected, and he wasn't one of them.

"…How did you know I was mad?"

For some reason, she felt proud of herself right then and there. He basically admitted defeat and she took the question as a compliment.

"People think you're hard to read, but that's only because they don't try." The intelligent girl was eye level with him again and she clutched her notebook into her chest. "With that scowl on your face, no one would dare to go near you." Her voice was overbearingly sweet, adding onto her teasing smile.

"You're in no position to tell other people that." Both of her eyebrows mounted up, slightly marveled by his sudden regain of confidence.

"You're right." With her manicured finer nails, she combed back her wavy hair. "Diplomacy's just not our forte."

"Tch." Although he would never admit it, this girl was really something else. From far away, anyone would think she was just a normal, happy-go-lucky girl walking the streets of Konoha. Of course you would smile and make eye contact with her once you get closer.

That's when the smile drops.

Her eyes seem to be watching your every move, almost like she's inspecting you. If you thought there was a smile on her face, it was most likely a prideful smirk for saving yet another life. She was known for being a boastful medical-nin.

"And people do try." His onyx eyes made her somewhat nervous, as they were just like hers. "I just reject them." Watching and analyzing your every single move.

Kimiko maintained her cold expression but his response cut the connection.

"Is that right?" There was a hint of hopelessness in her voice, making her flinch. No way was she going to bring him down with her. It was selfish to want for him to have the same story as hers.

It was foolish to think they could have the same story anyway. What was she thinking, hoping she and the S-ranked criminal could have had a connection?

"Did I just hear a form of feeling in your voice?" She didn't have to face him to see that haughty look on his face.

"I'm the interrogator here, so back to the question."

"Hmm, I only lasted ninety two seconds."

She raised her right brow, a gesture that showed she was getting irritated. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"All I wanted to do was see how long you would forget about the question. You forgot about the question at hand for ninety two seconds. Maybe you should brush up on your skills Miss interrogator."

Checkmate.

And there was no way out of this loss.

Color crept up her neck and then covered her cheeks. The dim lights covered the blush on her face but it couldn't mask the surprised look on her face.

"…That's enough for today."

She absolutely hated it. Being pushed into a corner like that never happened before.

Kimiko left without looking back, knowing she was too ashamed to even hold her head up.

She didn't need to write this one down into the notebook, as it was stuck in her head already.

_Don't underestimate Sasuke Uchiha._

Her feet took her towards the more populated areas of Konoha, and the pink had finally drained from her face. The black haired girl couldn't help but feel determined to try even harder now.

Half of the determination came from wanting to win, half came from wanting to defeat Sasuke in this mental battle.

She opened the ebony notebook and scanned her progress. There was one note that stood out from the rest.

_Didn't seem so happy when I asked him if he knew who saved him._

That would be her next step.

'_Naruto.'_

Her hands clasped together, closing the book.

The ramen stand was just down the street, so she made her way there.

Kimiko had her goals set and fixed. She was going to enter with questions and leave with answers, even if it meant her paying for his bill of forty three bowls of ramen.


	4. Chapter 4

_Thick Walls And A Solid Roof._

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><p>"Just the person I wanted to see. Naruto." The famous Uzumaki choked on his ramen, startled. Actually, Kimiko was the last person he wanted to see, and had been avoiding her all week.<p>

"Oh, hey Kimiko…" Clearly, he was nervous, and couldn't even make eye contact with her.

While he fidgeted in his seat, her crimson eyes took in every flaw of his body. The way his shoulders slumped and the heavy bags under his eyes hinted he wasn't getting enough sleep lately. He even had a bit of stubble poking out the surface of his skin. Of course she knew right away this whole situation bothered him, and she had to figure out why.

"I've got a few questions to ask you." Naruto mentally punched his self in the face. He knew he should have just stayed home where he could have kept well hidden away from Kimiko. But he just couldn't resist the urge to have fresh ramen rather than cup ramen.

"We both know you're hiding something." Her stare made the blonde shinobi edgy and he continuously made an effort to not make eye contact. Even if they were considered friends, the young Uzumaki couldn't help but feel intimidated by her. "So spill it."

His orange jumpsuit suddenly felt a lot hotter and he seemed to have broken a sweat. "…What are you talking about?"

"Tch." But there was no such things as 'friends' when it came down to serious business. "Don't play dumb with me."

Of course he knew what she was talking about. Rarely would she ever talk to him out of the blue like this, it had to be about something important if she did. And the only thing on both of their minds was Sasuke.

"You think I'm hiding something?" His tone was unusually snappy, and his whole aura seemed a bit too dry to belong to Naruto Uzumaki.

"Yes, I do." Truth be told, she wasn't expecting for him to still be upset. Obviously, the Uchiha had left some side effects for Naruto to suffer through. "And your attitude right now is enough to prove you're angry about something."

The heaven's started to cry, creating moisture in the air. They sounded like bullets trying to destroy the roof of the ramen stand as the rain drops fell harder. The lamps outside started to blink, indicating the day was growing older.

"…I don't know if I can tell you."

No one else was around, since eight o'clock was the time the husbands ran home to their wife's open arms. Kimiko double checked to make sure no one was in ear shot of their conversation. "And why is that?"

She asked in a much calmer and maybe even friendlier voice when she saw how solemn he was. It was so unlike him to not be bouncing from wall to wall.

Knowing Naruto was the closest person she had, she became secretly worried about his condition. Suddenly, he shut his eyes tight and shook his head, making her onyx eyebrows to furrow.

Nothing but the rain diving into the puddles of water could be heard, creating a quiet but dreadful environment for them.

"It's too much for me to tell." His lifeless blue eyes could be seen again, but they were clouded by tears. "I just..."

Kimiko could see he was struggling from just breaking down right there. He was so close to just giving up on everything.

"It's okay Naruto." It took every ounce of courage and confidence she had to let him go. "I'm an interrogator, remember? If you don't want to tell me, I'll probably get it out of Sasuke anyway."

He nearly flinched when she said the Uchiha's name. "…I'm sorry Kimiko."

She thought it'd be humiliating to pick a person's comfort over work but the outcome was ironic for her. The intelligent girl almost felt happier not knowing the answer. Because knowing the answer would mean sacrificing Naruto's happiness.

And that's the last thing she wanted.

"Go home and sleep." It sounded more like a command rather than advice. "Or I'll knock you out myself."

After a long pause, the ambitious shinobi got up and dragged his feet home. His hands were shoved into his pockets and his head hung low, ignoring the rain.

The weather seemed to match him completely.

"I suppose right now would be a good time to talk." The ambitious kinoichi glided her fingers over the notebook, not startled by his surprise entrance at all. She felt his chakra getting closer a few seconds ago.

"Kakashi Hatake." Without even looking back, she could tell who it was just by the chakra alone. But she had to admit that the muffled voice from the mask was a huge giveaway. "What brings you here?"

The famous copy cat ninja took a seat next to her, resting his arms on the table. "I think we both know the answer to that question. I'm Kakashi by the way, but I see you-"

"Kimiko. No need to drag out introductions."

"Right. And I can assume we both do know why I'm here."

She peeked over to him to see he meant business. Heck, he didn't even have his book on him! "Wow, I'm impressed Kakashi. You left your dirty book at home _and_ got rid of that carefree attitude. All that, just to talk about Sasuke, right?"

"That's exactly why I'm here." The older man noticed how comfortably she talked with adults, maybe even too comfortably. "It seems you forgot your manners. It's Kakashi-san to you, Kimiko."

She didn't use honorifics with anyone except for the elders and Tsunade. They were the only people she had true respect for.

"Well you can't lose what you never had." A chuckle escaped her lips when she saw the amused look on his face. "And you have to earn respect Kakashi."

He nearly groaned when she didn't address him correctly, but decided to let it slide. They had more important things to discuss anyway. "But let's get serious. If it bothers you, we can talk somewhere else in-"

"No one's around to eavesdrop." Kimiko double checked, and didn't feel anyone else's chakra. "Moving would be a hassle anyway."

"Right, you're quite gifted. Even I have trouble sensing other people's chakra."

"I was born with it. I can't even do a simple ninjutsu for my life so what's the point of having great control over chakra? I believe it's not an achievement if you're born with it, it's almost like a curse."

And that's when he knew why Naruto would complain about her all the time.

"_Of course I love Kimiko! But sometimes, when I'm talking to her, I get lost." His fingers scratched the side of his cheek, running them over his fox whiskers. "She's like an eighty year old lady stuck in a body of a sixteen year old!"_

"A curse you say?"

Kakashi could see how she tried to gulp her emotions down, not wanting to show him openly how uncomfortable she suddenly felt. "It's not like I chose to be bad at being a ninja." Her coral lips parted, letting out a sharp sigh.

He took a long and good look at the girl who seemed to be an enigma to everybody.

They say people like her build walls around their selves so no one could get in. Sasuke was just like that too.

But Kimiko didn't just build walls, she built a roof too. This way, even if people cared enough to climb those walls, they wouldn't be able to get close enough to her.

She was unreachable.

"But never mind that, you're not here to listen to me complain." She tried to brush it off. "What about Sasuke did you want to talk about specifically?"

He decided to save their previous talk for another day, and focused on the subject at hand. "You probably already know I was his sensei." The workers at the ramen stand must have realized the two wanted to be left alone, seeing how they were all huddled in the kitchen. "Your mission is to save him, am I right?"

She gave him a small nod before he continued. "Out of complete curiosity, I just want to know why he was near Konoha. Naruto found him near the entrance right?"

"Complete curiosity? I won't waste my breath to tell you information I collect just for your own entertainment." Her right brow pulled up, knowing he was wasting her time by beating around the bush. "You're not just simply curious are you? I'm sure you want to save him too."

She left him speechless. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but you tried to save him before. Didn't turn out the way you wanted it, did it?"

Kimiko approached his weak points immediately. She had some back ground information on him, and shame seemed to come to him easily. "Don't be too down about it. See this as a second chance."

"But I'm not an interrogator like you." He seemed dejected, no matter how hard he tried to cover it up. "I was born to be a great ninja." He turned to face her, putting on a forced smile. "I guess we're opposites huh?"

The raven haired girl didn't really like being compared or connected to another person but she let it slide. "I suppose so." When she realized her eyelids were growing heavier, she grabbed her notebook and stood up. "I'll keep you informed about anything that I find. Tsunade seems to trust you, seeing how she told you of his arrival."

"Thank you." The strong sense of stigma lingered in his voice. "…And I really do want to save him Kimiko, but I obviously can't do that without your help."

Seeing a Jounin being so weak and vulnerable like this surprised her, especially since Kakashi had a lot to live up to. He seemed so genuine about wanting to prove Sasuke's innocence, even if he knew Konoha was well against it. It made Kimiko think twice about him just being an arrogant adult.

"You can't take back actions, you can only make up for them." Her arms extended towards the ceiling, yawning as she stretched. "If you really are dedicated to saving him, meet me here tomorrow, five o'clock sharp." Lucky for her, it stopped raining, assuring the trip home wouldn't be too troublesome.

With a spin on her heels, she walked away, waving her hand at him. "Hold your head up high, Kakashi-san."


	5. Chapter 5

_Riddle Wrapped In Enigma_

* * *

><p>It was day four, and the rain fell harder than it had yesterday.<p>

"You can't even hear the rain in here." Kimiko whispered to herself, examining the roof.

"Tch." The interrogator sighed, having her peace disrupted by the criminal. "Back so soon?"

She had to admit, he was someone she could get along with fairly easily, if she put effort into it. He was straightforward and seemed to put on a strong front. But one thing that would get on her nerves was his arrogance. Sasuke didn't hesitate to make a rude remark, even if his life was in her hands. What made him so confident?

"Well aren't you just a ball of sunshine?" She took her time walking over to him, and sat down.

"You're sitting this time?"

"Why, yes, yes I am." She said in an awful cheery tone. It just didn't suit her, and it almost seemed as if she was mocking it.

"That voice doesn't fit you at all." A small chuckle rolled off of his tongue, not meaning to let it go.

"Interesting, so you do laugh." And he quickly shut his mouth when he realized she caught it. "Don't be so embarrassed by it."

He sent her a meaningful glare, making the corner of her lip curve up.

"Anyway, let's not waste this time." It only took her about a day to make a criminal crack, two at max. But it had been four days, more than enough for her to gather information. "I actually came up with reasons as to why you might not want to answer my questions." But Tsunade probably knew it was going to take much longer, since Sasuke was extraordinary. The Hokage wasn't expecting answers any time soon.

"Go ahead, let's hear it."

Only the Uchiha knew the real reason why he wouldn't answer her questions. It was something he couldn't tell to anyone, not until after execution.

"You hate Konoha, don't you?"

He mentally scoffed at her assumption.

"Why does that matter?"

"If you hate Konoha, you wouldn't even think about giving us information about anything. Who would help a village that they hate? That's the only thing I could think of." Kimiko looked down at her hands, slightly annoyed by having to admit defeat. "That, or you don't hate it, and refuse to talk for a certain reason."

"And what if I said you're right, that I truly detest Konoha?" She could almost see him feeding his own ego with that boastful smirk. "Where would that lead you?"

"If you hated Konoha, then I would conclude you were here to come back to the village, attempt to attack it, or take revenge for a personal reason."

That made Sasuke flinch, absolutely appalled by the last conclusion.

Taking revenge on Konoha ran through his head numerous of times. When Madara informed him about how it was Konoha that had forced Itachi into assassinating his whole clan, he was absolutely furious. Of course the initial thought would be to destroy Konoha. But was that what Itachi wanted?

The answer to that question was an absolute no.

His older brother loved the village and grew very fond of it. How could Sasuke possibly damage the last memory he had of his family?

"…You don't…Know about the clan, do you?"

'_No, she couldn't possibly know. No one knows about the reasons as to why Itachi ambushed his clan.'_ He thought, anticipating for her answer.

Kimiko only blinked at his question, not knowing where he was getting at. She really didn't know anything about it, since there were only a rare select of people who held that secret.

"No? Is that something I should know about?"

"You actually think that's any of your business?" Her eyebrows slanted down, surprised at his sudden change of attitude.

"You should start watching that mouth of yours." With her hand, she wiped off the sweat forming on her forehead. "You do realize I'm on your side right? Your fate's in my hands Uchiha."

"Don't make me laugh." The air in the room became thicker with tension. "You're just here to suck answers out of me. Then you guys will kill me right?"

Her stare hardened, and then widened when she spotted an odd feature.

"Don't waste your time, just kill me now."

There was a sick and twisted smile plastered onto his face.

"…You _want_ to die?"

"Sure." He spoke of death like it wasn't a big deal. Kimiko sneered in disgust, having seen an overabundance of people fearing death and wishing for another chance, including her brother. He didn't appreciate how fortunate he was to even be able to breathe right now. "Kill me."

When her ruby red eyes looked up to him, her hands started to shake. "You're absolutely repulsive." Fire ignited inside of her when she saw him continuing his morbid joke. "Don't you get it? There are so many people out there that want to be able to hold onto their life."

His smile fell, seeing many signs pointing to fury.

"You're healthy and free from physical pain. I don't know why you basically threw yourself in confinement, but before, you were free to do anything." Her voice violently shook with rage. "Not all people are blessed with freedom, and you obviously took that for granted."

When she looked up to Sasuke, she swore for a second that her brother was sitting in place of him. She shook it off, knowing it was just her body playing tricks on her.

"All these gifts and talents you were born with…" She shook her head lightly, feeling anger being replaced by sorrow. "It was all a waste on you."

Before she could go on and throw insults to him any further, she sucked in her tears and tried to calm herself. Meanwhile, Sasuke just watched, shocked at her outburst.

"…Something happened to you, didn't it?" Her stare ran across the room, not wanting to make eye contact with Sasuke. "You wouldn't get mad about this unless it did."

She let a deep breath out, frustrated by the fact that he was catching on.

"Is it a family matter?"

Bingo.

"You think that's any of your business?" Kimiko retorted, quoting his words.

"Hn." Not many people managed to anger her, but it came naturally to Sasuke. All he had to do was make a small sound and completely ignore her questions, and she'd be on a rampage soon.

"So you want to die?" She tried to get back to work with a more peaceful state of mind. But her jaw clenched tight for a second, feeling the familiar rush of temper paying her a visit again. "Is that why you won't answer my questions? So I can't defend you, leading to execution?"

"Wow you're good at this." He purposely tried to push her buttons, wanting to make the interrogator go insane. "But who said I wanted to die?"

"You did!" She shrieked, losing her mind. "You said it five minutes ago!"

"Oh did I? Hmm." That's all he got to say before she stood up with the notebook in her hand. "Leaving so soon?"

"I'm getting sick of you."

She stomped over to the wall and asked the ANBU outside to let her out.

"Honestly, I just want to see what you're capable of miss interrogator." Kimiko didn't look back, and saw the opening getting bigger. "Let the game begin."

* * *

><p>"You don't look too happy." Kakashi said when she sat down across from him, still letting off fuse.<p>

"I have no idea how you managed to be his sensei without strangling him to death." His one eye grew, taken aback from her bluntness.

"I'm guessing it was Sasuke who pissed you off." The copy cat ninja just stared at his cup of tea, not wanting to take off his mask in public.

"Trust me, no one manages to get under my skin like he does." The ravenette glared at her reflection in the window, completely disgusted at how she couldn't keep her emotions under control. "But let's cut to the chase. You're here because you want to save Sasuke, correct?"

"Right. Would you mind showing me information you have so far?" He asked, and saw her opening the neat notebook to the third page.

"I'm a bit ashamed to say I didn't find out too much."

The teenage girl watched as his single eye scanned the page. "He didn't seem so happy when you asked him if he knew who saved him?" She nodded, feeling clouded too.

"I'm not sure if that's a significant observation, but it seemed worth taking note of. He has to have a reason for not answering the question."

The grey haired man folded his hands together, sighing at he did so. "Is that why you were questioning Naruto yesterday? To see if he knew anything, being the one who saved Sasuke and all?"

"Precisely." She was slightly amused as to how quickly he caught onto things. "But Naruto refused to tell me anything too. He said it was too much for him to tell."

Kakashi leaned back in his seat, shutting his eyes in annoyance. "If only we could get Naruto to tell us a few things, then it would make everything so much easier…"

"But here's another question." They had a ton of those, and only so many clues to direct them to the answer. "Just like you asked me last night, why _was_ Sasuke near Konoha?"

She could see his lips pull back from underneath the mask, a sign that he didn't know much of it either. "It could be possible that he wanted to attack Konoha."

"That's what I thought previously." Kimiko flipped through the pages to open up to an untouched one. "But really think about it. Why would he do that anyway? What was he trying to gain?"

"Power? Fear from the other villages?" The interrogator slowly nodded her head, impressed by his quick responses. She jot them down, just in case they would come in handy later.

"Wait a second!" Her eyes lit up as her brain caught something. "He was covered in blood right?"

The waitress had just came over, now frightened by the girl's sudden outburst.

"Not right now." Kakashi said, not taking his eye off of what Kimiko was scribbling down. The waitress left with a scowl on her face, not appreciating the rude gestures.

"If he was covered in blood, he either got into a fight near Konoha or was headed over to Konoha after finishing a fight." She marveled at her new discovery. "And he must have had a reason for being so close to Konoha. He wouldn't fight close to the entrance, knowing he would only gain attention."

He squinted, trying to keep up with the prodigy's always working mind.

"Or maybe that's what he wanted, attention. He could have purposely come near Konoha to fight, knowing that we would notice."

The two glared at the sheet, knowing they didn't have enough proof to back up neither of their thoughts.

Just when they think they're getting somewhere, it just brings up a whole new set of questions.

Sasuke Uchiha was really an enigma, but she didn't plan on losing this game.


	6. Chapter 6

_Haunting Past, But Looking Forward._

* * *

><p>Honestly, Kimiko felt a little embarrassed and hesitated to enter the room. It had been two days since she visited where Sasuke was being confined. She locked herself in her room, hoping to come up with more answers. Being alone in a peaceful environment was supposed to help her, but she came up with nothing.<p>

She just stood near the barrier, wondering what kind of reaction he would give her. Would he laugh and mock her for coming in empty handed?

Before the ANBU could ask what was wrong, her legs finally took her in. And here she was again, in this dreaded room anyone would call hell.

There were enough candles to let the light reflect off of the numerous chains restricting the man. The elders didn't treat this man like a human. No, they treated him like a wild beast.

Her stare hardened, disgusted by how they could treat another human being like this. Sure he was a criminal, but he never did anything to hurt this village.

Her eyebrows wrinkled when she realized something was out of place. It was that same accustomed smell that always filled her nose.

Blood.

"Wait a second…" It was too dark to see, so she took a candle like she always did, and walked closer to the Uchiha.

He looked just like he did on the first day he got here.

Her ruby eyes gaped at the thick liquid that sat as a puddle around him. His pale chest, even his hair was drenched in dark crimson. Kimiko couldn't inspect the damage, for she was too far away. When she tried to extend her hand towards him, it froze. She was paralyzed in fear and shock.

"No hello?" His voice was still deep but had a hint of scratchiness to it.

When her dry lips parted, she suddenly forgot how to make out her words. The Uchiha saw this, and smirked with the very last ounce of arrogance he had.

"Who…" Kimiko was used to seeing people in this condition since she worked in a hospital. Heck, she even watched Tsunade amputate people's legs before.

But his state wasn't due to a mission or an accident.

This was done on purpose and he had no way of fighting back. The pain was forced, and they put him through pure torture.

"Who did this to you?" The raven haired man was a bit taken back from the poison dripping from her every word.

When he inhaled, a loud parade of coughs suffocated him. Sasuke closed his mouth, trying to stop his mouth from getting any drier.

"…Was it the ANBU?" She glanced over to the side of the room, noticing none of them were in here.

Once he felt he was well enough to talk, he slung his head back, keeping it there with the little energy he had left. "And why does that matter to you?"

The medical-nin's nose flared up, knowing what he was ridiculously trying to do in a situation like this. "Don't try to be so impudent Uchiha, you're the one close to bleeding to death." Even when he was nearly dying, he still wanted to aggravate her.

The infamous smirk made its way onto his lips. "Didn't I tell you a few days ago? I _want_ to die."

Her eyes sent him a nasty scowl, making his lips curve deeper. "You just keep changing your mind don't you?"

After the casual conversation, Kimiko gathered up the courage to see what kind of damage was inflicted.

And when she approached him, she wanted to turn back and leave.

There was a large gash running down his once untouched chest, and another on his back. Just seeing the gaps dug into his flesh made the girl's lips pull back in horror. Judging by the wounds, whoever did this to him must have intended to keep him alive, in hopes of him bleeding to death in a couple of days. And it must have been only hours old, seeing how the blood was just now starting to dry.

"…Was it the elders?"

In seconds, the haughty aura disappeared.

* * *

><p>"You're sick!" Tsunade's eyes were ready to pop out of their sockets in surprise. "Who do you guys think you are?"<p>

"Kimiko!" The Hokage rushed to hold back the bitter girl, knowing she had a rather sharp tongue. She knew exactly why Kimiko was mad, but she didn't think it would make her ferocious.

"Such disrespect coming from a so called 'prodigy'." One of the elders from the Konoha council, Koharu, said, not paying attention to the sudden outburst at all.

"My, my, look who it is." The elderly man, Homura, continued to stir his tea. "Try to shut your student up Tsunade."

The blond woman didn't like the two members of the Konoha council any more then they didn't like her. They always scolded her for everything bad that happened to Konoha, saying she was too inexperienced to handle a village. And itt seemed like every day that they nagged her about what a waste of time mentoring Kimiko was. Every move she made was a mistake in their eyes.

"Didn't you say you'd give us time? I'm the one interrogating him!" She was blinded by fury, not holding back anything. "And what good did you get from hurting him?"

"Kimiko Emi!" Tsunade whispered in a quiet but dangerous tone. "Lower your voice right now."

Though she wasn't on the Konoha council's side, she didn't want to risk her pupil's safety. If they really wanted to, they could send the poor child right back to where she came from.

And Tsunade knew that would mean the end of the final chapter in Kimiko's life.

"And you think we want to leave all the work in the hands of a sixteen year old?" Koharu lifted a brow, amused by the young girl's anger. "Look, it's eight o'clock, the day is growing old. How about you-"

"Don't hurt him just because you two hate me!" Kimiko knew the two elders in the Konoha council hated every cell in her body. She knew they detested her from day one. "I'll prove to you guys that I'm not just some worthless brat!"

The middle aged woman gulped, hoping the two elders would let the girl off easy. Tsunade didn't try to stop her at this point, knowing what the root of her rage was.

"Funny you should say that." Homura brought out some manila folders and opened them, spreading it out on the table. When Kimiko and Tsunade saw the pictures inside, they were completely frozen in bewilderment. "Because we decided on something to make this more interesting."

He looked over to Koharu, who turned to Kimiko. "These are your family members, are they not?"

The two photos held the nightmare of her past, something that always haunted her in the back of her head. No matter how hard she tried to push the memory out, it just wouldn't leave.

"Answer me."

"Yes…They are."

Her jaw clenched when she saw the glossy picture of her older brother, trying to hold back from letting her emotions pour out. She hadn't seen that face in a while, and she hoped he was still alive.

"They seem to be living in a not so populated part of Konoha." Koharu said, pointing to the information on the paper with her wrinkly finger. "Just on the border actually."

And because of that very reason, Kimiko was able to live near Tsunade. Since she was so far away from her parents, they didn't bother to go through the trouble of brining her back. They didn't particularly want her anyway.

"And your point is?"

Tsunade held onto Kimiko's hand, trying to calm down the fiery teenager.

"Unless some kind of miracle occurs, and you actually defend Sasuke successfully, it'll be goodbye to you." Homura turned over to the girl, tilting his head ever so slightly. "We'll send you right back to being that worthless brat."

"Homura-san!" Tsunade exclaimed, letting go of the astonished ravenette's hand. "Don't do this, please!"

"We'll deliver more information to you tomorrow." Homura ignored the Hokage's plea, and leaned back in his chair. "Dismissed."

The two elders left, leaving them to stare off into outer space. This wasn't supposed to happen, they didn't even think this could be a possibility.

"Kimiko…" Her voice was soft but it trembled in dread. "We'll get you out of this, I-"

"Don't worry about me." There were tears flooding her eyes but she still held her head up high.

The blond haired woman, who raised Kimiko as if she was her own daughter, hung her head down in shame. How could she let something like this happen to her? She beat herself up inside, knowing she was somewhat at fault for letting this happen.

"I hope you don't mind Tsunade-san, but I would like a copy of the information you'll receive tomorrow." Her guardian was rather amazed by her unaltered confidence.

Though it was more of terror of what will happen to her rather than having confidence. She couldn't panic over something that might not even happen, she had to think of ways to prevent it. The ravenette got this far in life, and she wasn't going to let it all go.

"Once I get this job done, they'll never underestimate Kimiko Emi ever again."


	7. Chapter 7

_Next Level Of The Game._

* * *

><p>Kimiko ran out of the Konoha Council room, not wanting to stay for even another second.<p>

It was a quarter past midnight, leaving the streets of the beautiful village empty. Every form of life was sleeping, allowing the girl to let the tears free in despair.

She wasn't crying because of what would happen if she lost. No, she believed she was going to win.

But she became overwhelmed with emotions when memories of her brother flooded her head.

It had been about five years since seeing her brother, and the thoughts of him were kept buried deep. She feared that if too many thoughts of him consumed her head, her legs might soon be sprinting back home. And that would mean all of her brother's efforts and sacrifices going to waste.

When the vacant field came to view, she wiped away the tears, leaving an intimidating look on her face.

"Kimiko?" The ANBU said, curious as to why she was visiting so late. "What are you doing here? You should come back in tomorrow-"

"It's urgent." And that was all she needed to say before he created an opening for her. "Thank you."

Just as she suspected, none of the ANBUs were inside. Kakashi had made a small comment on how much missions were given to the Jounin a couple days ago. Since over sixty percent of the ANBU were keeping an eye on Sasuke and were staying in the village just in case anything were to happen, Tsunade had no choice but to send Jounin on the missions.

But the sudden need for Jounins to go on so many missions was highly suspicious.

Wanting to keep the Uchiha's arrival a secret, the Hokage decided it'd be best to let some of them go, 'them' being the ANBU that always kept watch inside the room.

That seemed to let the Jounins to relax, not questioning it any further.

So since the ANBU weren't inside, Kimiko knew nobody would stop her.

"Sasuke, are you awake?" She brought all four candles over to the center of the room, where Sasuke sat there with eyes wide open.

"What are you doing here so early?" Kimiko noticed his voice cracking a bit, a sign that he might have just woken up.

"It's nearly one o'clock in the morning." Thinking about sleep made her feel even more tired than she already did. "Did you think the sun was just beginning to rise?"

"Well, yeah. The ANBU aren't here, so I thought they must have gone home for rest. I actually suspected you to be an ANBU, but I was wrong." The raven haired girl shrugged, slightly impressed by his logical guess.

"Good guess."

Just like she did every time she visited, her eyes scanned the room. She wasn't exactly sure why, but everything about this room bothered her endlessly.

How there's minimal lighting in this room, how there's no windows or doors. Even how they didn't properly dress the criminal. Kimiko was right before, they don't treat this man like a human being.

"I swear they really are against lights or something." She squinted, having a hard time making out the damages of the wounds. "What's light going to do, magically let you out of those chains?"

Instead of reacting to her comments, he just sat there, baffled by what she was doing.

She held her hand over the gaps in his skin, slowly turning into a pastel shade of green.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm healing you." Just a couple more hours of the two untreated, deep wounds and he would have probably started to get dizzy and eventually die. Dying of blood loss wasn't painful, but it was particularly fun either.

"…You do know I'm the enemy right?"

"And what makes you the enemy Sasuke?"

His dark eyebrows furrowed, wondering where she was going with this.

"I'm a criminal, a missing-nin."

He could see a faint smile pulling on her lips. "Everybody's been brainwashed by the Konoha Council, I swear. Even you fell for it."

"What is that supposed to mean?" The Uchiha said more words to this girl then he did his whole life.

"They're the ones that convinced us you were a bad person. You only left this village, and never caused harm to it. So why do people think you're such a criminal?" Sasuke lifted a brow, wanting to hear her reason. "Because of the Elders. They make you out to be such a bad person when you're really not. Humans stupidly believe anything told to them."

He let out a sigh, feeling even exhausted from her intellectual insight of the situation. "So are you on my side or something?"

"I don't choose sides." The Kinouchi felt relieved at seeing the cuts closing up. "Choosing sides just leads to enemies."

Sasuke let out a scoff, what Kimiko considered as him laughing.

"And why are you laughing?"

The raven haired man ignored the sudden jolts of pain as she continued to aid him. "Who said I was laughing?"

"It seems that you scoff whenever I say something that amuses you."

There were now three faint scars covering his body, the two she just healed and the one from days ago. With her hand, she held the candle up to his chest, satisfied with her work.

"There, now you won't bleed yourself to a pitiful death."

"Women shouldn't say such morbid things like that." The Uchiha looked down to his body, wondering how she could have done that so quickly. "And I do scoff instead of laughing. Nice job Miss Interrogator, you excel in amusing me."

"I don't need your approval." She said, arrogantly holding her nose up high. "But thanks anyway."

The girl rose up when sleep suddenly attacked her. "You should get some rest."

"I don't need your concern." The pompous man said, holding his head up high also. "But thanks anyway."

* * *

><p><em>You have sixty more days to save Sasuke Uchiha. <em>

_If you were to actually come up with a valid reason as to why we shouldn't put the S-ranked criminal to death, we'll let Kimiko Emi and Sasuke Uchiha go._

_We're going to keep the seal on him, however, just to ensure the safety of Konoha._

"So what is this again? Some kind of an offer?" Kakashi flipped through the pages, seeing the signature line at the bottom of the last page.

"It's kind of like an official document. The elders made it for Tsunade to sign. This is just a copy of it." The serious teenager glared around, receiving dirty looks from the villagers passing by. "Keep reading."

_But we assume you won't have a convincing argument._

_When you don't win, Kimiko Emi will be sent back home, where she belongs. Her parents will have full custody over her then, and you are to never go near that part of Konoha ever again._

"If you don't mind me asking, why don't you live with your parents?" The medical-nin didn't turn to look at him, and just continued to glance around with a scowl on her face. "And why does it seem like the elders don't want Tsunade near you?"

After a few more dirty looks, she directed her attention to him. "I kind of do mind you asking Kakashi."

The grey haired Jounin paused with a blank face, and then sighed. "What happened to calling me Kakashi-san?"

"I just happened to respect you that one time."

_To make things fair, we'll be inviting all four Kages to determine Sasuke Uchiha's innocence. Their bodyguards coming along will also state their opinion._

_You signing will be accepting the fact that you are risking the chance of losing Kimiko Emi. It also means you have sixty more days to come up with an argument, and ensures Sasuke Uchiha's safety._

_But if you don't sign and give this document to us in the next three days, Sasuke Uchiha will be executed immediately, and Kimiko Emi will be able to stay here._

_Think about your choices and consequences wisely before choosing to sign or not._

"I don't think I can fully trust you if you don't trust me enough to tell me about yourself." The grey haired man peeked over to her. "It only feels right that I should know."

"…I guess you're right." The raventte admitted, knowing the Hatake would never go against her. She knew he was lying, she had his full trust already. The least she could do is trust him too in return. "Do you wish to hear it now?"

Just before the older man could reply, two ladies walked by, gossiping in loud whispers.

"Now she's even wasting the Hatake's time too."

Hearing those kind of things didn't surprise Kimiko, but it confused Kakashi.

"It's a shame, Hokage-sama should just send her back to where she came from."

By the way they were peeking over their shoulders made it obvious they were talking about Kimiko. The copy cat ninja looked over with a concerned face, amazed by how unaffected she was by this.

Suddenly, without a word, she got up and started to walk away.

His long legs quickly took him over to her side, slowing down when he caught up to her.

"Interesting, I thought you would just let me go." Her crimson eyes were facing down, trying to shut out everybody else but him.

"If you really wanted to escape from me, you would have run away." His voice was muffled but she could make his words out clearly. "You walking was a sign for me to follow you."

The in awe sixteen year old stopped dead in her tracks. Although she wouldn't admit it, she was impressed by his natural talent at reading humans' body language. An amused chuckle rang in his ears, equally as amused as to how quickly her mood changed.

"Now you're thinking like an interrogator."


	8. Chapter 8

_One Step Forward, Two Steps Back._

* * *

><p>"Konoha hates me." She said simply, keeping the story short and sweet.<p>

"…And what does that mean?" He shifted around in his seat, catching a glance of the workers' glares. Kakashi could hear them whispering, even sneering at Kimiko.

"Well I'm sure the people behind me are a good example." The ravenette said without looking back and stared down at her cup of water. "Have you ever noticed that I don't drink or eat at restaurants? Honestly, I'm afraid they might try to kill me, or the Elders put them up to it."

"But why?" She could hear how irritated he was becoming by her unclear answers.

"You're an impatient one, aren't you Kakashi?" By the playful tone, he assumed she was purposely teasing him. "I'm sorry, but telling you my whole life story seems completely unnecessary, and we have more important things to do."

"Then get to the point Kimiko." His stare hardened, wanting for her to know that he wasn't fooling around.

"Very well." She looked directly into his single eye, thinking of a plan as she did so. "Everybody that makes up Konoha have a good reason to loathe me. That's because I attacked this village when I was only twelve years old."

Mentally, she smirked when she saw how his eyebrows knitted together. "They managed to keep me under control and cure me of a disease that was nearly incurable." Kakashi Hatake might be a legend, but he was still human. Of course he would believe her.

"…Then why are you here? Why are you still alive?"

"Tsunade couldn't kill me, she had to take me in." Kimiko wondered whether or not he would catch on that this was all a lie. It would be more interesting if he did, but the chances were slim. "She made a promise to my mom she would take care of me."

The grey haired shinobi just blinked, blown away by her story. "That's one heck of a story." He sipped on his water, still trying to digest her confession.

Her ruby eyes curved as she smiled, having fooled the copy cat ninja successfully. "Isn't it? But none of that was true, let me tell you the real story."

Instead of going on, she waited for him to react. First he nodded, but then he suddenly stopped mid way. Slowly, he held his head up, and seemed interested rather than angered.

"None of this was true?"

"Some are sharper than others, but we're all humans with feelings and emotions." It was clear that this girl captured Kakashi's attention completely. "If you trust someone, you would easily believe everything they say without question."

She went on, leaving him to be more amused by the second. "You believing everything I said earlier was a sign of trust Kakashi."

"So what was your goal?" He leaned in, resting his arms on the table.

"My goal was to show you how easily you can be deceived and how carelessly you let clues pass by." She leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms as she did so. "I'm assuming you know Shikamaru Nara? I think he would be the only one in Konoha that would be able to pick up on my subtle hints."

"So? Let's hear it, I'm curious to hear what kind of clues you left for me."

"Well, first of all, what are the chances of a twelve year old attacking the village? One would assume they have a horrible demon stuck inside of them, or that the child was plain insane. But if that was true, you would have known about it, since you are indeed a villager here. Have you ever heard 'Kimiko' and 'attacked the village' being used in the same sentence before?"

Kakashi let out a short laugh to his self, wondering why he didn't catch onto that.

"Tsunade made a promise to my mom to take care of me?" She scoffed, knowing that was far from true. "The age difference is about twenty years, making it hard for the two to be close friends. Tsunade was a wanderer, going from village to village. If my mother was a ninja that was ranked enough to wander out of the village, wouldn't you have heard of her before?"

He felt exhausted from just hearing her basically scolding him.

"I'm sure you have more hints that would make me feel worse about myself Kimiko." The two smiled to their selves, one being prideful, the other being a little embarrassed. "But just like you said, we have more important things to focus on. You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to, but we have sixty days to save Sasuke. Wasting one day could mean his death."

"Excuse me for testing you at a time like this, and you're right, that's far more important." She took out the notebook, seeing the copy of the contract peeking out. "A lot has happened that I haven't told you about yet. Today's day one of the official countdown towards the big day, and we're lucky to have gotten a head start."

His one eye concentrated on the notebook she was flipping through.

"Here's one thing you don't know: The Elders decided to interrogate Sasuke on their own, physically abusing him as they did so."

"What?" He had great control over his emotions, but she noticed how raged he was. "Aren't they leaving the job to you? When did this even happen?"

"Yesterday. I went back around mid night after giving the Elders a visit to heal him." She pushed her wavy locks behind her ear. "Don't worry, the Uchiha is fine."

Kakashi just sat there with a fixed stare, wondering what he could do in this situation. "Let's get right to business, I don't want to waste even a second."

"We're on the same page Kakashi." She stopped at a page that was filled with information she gathered on Sasuke Uchiha. "The main problem links back to the main questions. Why was he near Konoha? Why did Sasuke seem mad when I asked him if he knew who saved him? Why is Naruto so hesitant to tell us what happened that night?" She took a deep breath in before continuing. "All we have are questions that can't be answered unless we find an answer to one of them. One answer leads to another."

"It seems that Naruto refusing to speak is the main problem."

"When people don't speak willingly, there are two options." She folded her hands together. "We beat it out of him, or we bribe him. I'm sure both of us are siding with the latter of the two."

"So we bribe him?" Being both Sasuke's and Naruto's old sensei, he knew very well neither would give in to anything like money or superficial things. "Even ramen wouldn't be good enough for Naruto to cave in."

"But I'm sure being able to see Sasuke would be enough."

He raised a brow, not knowing where she was getting at. "Elaborate."

"Something happened that we just don't know about, only Sasuke and Naruto seem to know. I'm sure Naruto wants to talk to Sasuke, he's been wanting to even since he left. If we let him visit the Uchiha, we might be able to get some answers in return."

"So how do you suggest we do this?"

"Here's a map to where Sasuke's being confined." She tore it out and handed it to him after folding it in half. "Don't let anyone see it and meet me there at five. I'll be there with the blond idiot."

* * *

><p>"Naruto, are you ready?" He nodded, not being too sure if he really was or not. None the less, the ANBU let them in. Kakashi and Naruto seemed to hesitate but eventually followed Kimiko inside.<p>

"Stay here." She instructed and took out a flashlight, being prepared this time. Candles were too troublesome anyway.

With a simple push of her finger, it was on, and she could see Sasuke glaring over to one corner of the room. "Who is that?"

"You'll find out soon enough." She placed the flashlight on the floor, illuminating a small space around them. Now she could make out every feature of his face clearly. "Huh, you're better looking than I thought."

"Tch." He quietly scoffed, keeping his guard up. "If you think compliments will get answers out of me, you're wrong."

"It was just a simple compliment." She stood up and walked over to Naruto. "And I won't be the one talking to you today."

The blonde felt adrenaline pumping through his veins as he walked closer. It really was him, Sasuke was really here, right in front of him again.

When he was in Sasuke's view, the two immediately glared at each other.

"What's this about?" Sasuke hissed, clearly not enjoying the change of plans. "If you know what's good for you, you'd get out."

"Calm down Sasuke, Naruto just wanted to have a word with you."

Naruto wanted to see Sasuke before he would tell Kimiko anything, and she was fine with that. Actually, if he came to her, begging to see his ravenette friend, she would have let him with nothing in return.

Her ruby orbs focused on the two childhood rivals, looking for any hints.

A light chuckle escaped Naruto's lips, but his face held pure agony.

"It's good to see you're still alive."

She told the energetic shinobi all about what had happened, even how the Elders almost beat him to death. In exchange, Naruto said Kimiko and Kakashi could be in the same room listening to their conversation.

"What the hell are you doing here anyway?" Kimiko saw how his face held hate, but his voice held some sorrow.

"I just wanted to see you were okay."

Her eyebrow raised, feeling confused and frustrated by how much she didn't know. It felt like watching two strangers conversing, one feeling bittersweet, and the other being mad.

"…Why did you do it?" Scratch that, Naruto was also simply in rage. Now, both Kakashi and Kimiko were even more puzzled then before.

"I was really happy to see you, I thought you might be coming back to the village." She could see Naruto shaking. "But I was wrong. So why Sasuke?"

"Get out."

"Tell me why."

"You ruined everything. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be in here rotting away."

Before the two could blow up, Kimiko sped over and held the blue eyed shinobi back. "Naruto, you can see him another time, that's enough for today."

He slapped his hand out of her grip, and stomped out of the room. She sighed, for she hadn't expected for something like this to happen.

"And what did we gain today?" Kimiko her held hand up to her throbbing head. "Just a whole bunch of more questions."


	9. Chapter 9

_Puzzle With Missing Pieces._

* * *

><p>"So they were both mad at each other." Kimiko visualized both of the boys' reactions, resting her head on her hand as she did so. "But Naruto also seemed sad at one point."<p>

"Actually, he seemed to be depressed this whole time." Kakashi secretly glanced around the room, wondering how a young girl like this keeps her place so neat and tidy. "I would think he would be happy Sasuke was back."

"No." She made her way into the kitchen and brought back two bottles of cold water. "Even if nothing did happen, and Sasuke just came back willingly, Naruto would still be mad. He'd probably react just like he did today."

"And why is that?" He grabbed the water bottle out of her hand, thanking her quickly. "Naruto has wanted Sasuke back in Konoha for years now."

"But Sasuke's a S-ranked criminal. He supposedly is the country's enemy. Naruto probably feels hurt and betrayed by the Uchiha's actions." They had fifty nine days left, and they had to make every single one of them count. But why did it seem like everytime they found out something new, a hundred more questions pop up?

"Supposedly?"

The ravenette stopped looking through her notebook, staring up at Kakashi instead.

"Yes, supposedly."

"And why do you defend Sasuke so strongly, even though you didn't know him in the past?"

Her small hands closed the notebook, ignoring it for now. "And what bad has Sasuke done to the village, hm? It's simply immature for the Elders to hate him for no reason. They're the ones that spread it and brainwashed everybody to think he was a bad person. Heck, maybe that's why Naruto thinks so too."

He was deep in thought when suddenly, he noticed his throat was parched. His finger went up to grab onto the mask when he caught a sight of Kimiko almost gaping at him. "Is there…Something wrong?"

She seemed to snap right out of it and chuckled a little. "No, it's just, I've never seen you without that mask on. I guess I'm just a curious as everybody else is."

The grey haired man smiled, moving his hand away from his face. "I'll torture you and make you wait."

"No way!" Kimiko didn't realize it, but she began to relax a little around Kakashi. Sure she had walls built around her but they weren't indestructible. "You can't just stop now!"

He was a bit taken aback by how lively she was now, a smile lingering on her lips often. She even laughed, pouted, showed emotions carelessly.

"Of course, you're human too." He turned around and brought down his mask, drinking swiftly. All the while, her face died down slowly, wondering what he was talking about.

"…I don't understand you old people."

The water went down the wrong tube, sending Kakashi into a coughing fit.

"Don't you dare spit water onto the floor." She warned, not wanting the responsibility of cleaning up after others.

"Yeah, of course I'm okay, thanks for asking." She smiled at his sarcasm and watched him wipe his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt. "And I'm not that old."

Kimiko shrugged, knowing he wasn't so old compared to Tsunade. "But what did you mean I'm human too?"

"You're not as cold as I thought." Kakashi put down his water bottle, and leaned back in the couch, folding his arms. "So tell me why you put up that front."

She was practically glaring at him, annoyed by his request. "What makes you think that's fake?"

"You just smiled now, even laughed."

"I've smiled before haven't I?"

"No, I don't believe so." He could tell she was getting irritated by him. "And if you did, it wasn't genuine."

The air was a lot more tense then it had been earlier. They sat in silence, Kakashi waiting for an answer from the now stunned Kimiko. Her hands curled up into tight fists, knowing she was there again. Sasuke was the first to send her there, and she didn't think it would happen again.

It was that inescapable corner.

It left her feeling vulnerable and weak, two things she loathed to the fullest.

"You…You're wrong."

Repeatedly, she tried to run away, but it was useless.

"No, I don't think I am."

"Then what about you?" Whenever someone accused her of something, she accused them right back. It was the only way to win in a situation where you're the target. "You're scared too aren't you?"

Kakashi held a blank stare, just observing her panicked state. Her eyes were wide, she fidgeted, she was totally giving herself away. "Scared?"

"You must wear a mask for a reason, don't even deny it. You wear it to hide yourself from everybody else. It's a lot easier to cover your emotions up rather than avoiding them."

Yes, they were known as strong shinobi in Konoha, but they both carried heavy burdens and pasts on their shoulders.

"…You're good at turning tables." He could tell she was getting almost upset about this. It was too early for him to ask any personal questions. If he wasn't careful, he would just drive her away. "It seems this is something neither of us wants to talk about right now, so let's forget about it."

Kimiko, still being shaken up, just burned holes in the floor with her eyes. "Right, let's get back to what we were doing…"

He felt a tinge of guilt hit him, seeing how he made her this depressed. "What's our next step? I'm sure you have something in mind."

"That's a lot of pressure Kakashi." He silently let out a sigh of relief when he noticed her regaining her focus. "Especially since I'm stumped."

"And what do interrogators do when they're stuck?"

"We just keep asking. When you don't have enough answers, you ask questions."

"Isn't asking questions something we've been doing this whole time? The answers just don't piece together."

"Think Kakashi." She got up and pulled on her leather jacket, holding onto the notebook with her hand. "You can't complete a puzzle without all the pieces can you?"

* * *

><p>"That blond haired idiot better not be with you this time." Sasuke sneered, trying his best to see if she brought someone with her.<p>

Kimiko clicked her flashlight on, reassuring him no one was with her. "Don't worry, he's probably moping in his room or something."

On her way here, she dropped by Tsunade's office. The hokage did sign the contract, but only after Kimiko told her that's what she wanted.

"Sasuke, can I ask you personal questions?" She decided to try and take another road. "What's your dream?"

The raven haired man squinted, wondering where she was going with this. "And why or how is that relevant?"

"It's more important than you think. So, let's hear it."

Their eyes locked, and Sasuke gave her his famous smirk. "My dream? I don't really have a dream."

"Wasn't it to kill Itachi?" Kimiko almost laughed when she saw him take a deep breath in, amazed at how predictable he was.

"Don't speak of my brother's name."

The smile shrunk into a line when she heard the tone of his voice. "…Didn't you kill him already?" He was angry at her, not Itachi. It was almost as if he was protecting his brother from her.

"Shut up."

Every time he heard someone say his brother's name, all he could feel was the remorse and guilt. Yes, he did kill Itachi, only to find out the reasons as to why his brother annihilated the Uchiha clan days later. No one knew about it but the Elders, him, and Madara.

Every day was a haunting reminder of what he had done.

No one scared or intimidated Kimiko, not even Tsunade. But the look in his eyes held the intention to hurt, maybe even kill her if she spoke of Itachi again.

"That's a weird change, I thought you hated-"

"I said shut up."

Seeing how protective he was about his older brother made her think of her own, wondering how painful it would be to lose him. "If you love him, why did you kill him?"

"I said shut up!" The chains rattled as he shot his body towards her, making her whole body flinch back in surprise. Now he looked like a villainous monster, fitting the way the Elders treated him.

"Sasuke, calm down."

"I didn't know!" Kimiko knew the ANBU was peeking inside to make sure everything was okay, but she shooed him away with her hand. "I ruined everything!"

"What did you ruin?" She kept her cool, wanting more answers out of him while he was still like this.

"His plan, his life, just everything!" His gaze intensified, growing with more hate. "And that ignorant blonde ruined mine!"

"You keep saying Naruto ruined your plan, what does that mean?"

"You think I would tell you Interrogator?" He held his nose up high, looking down at her. "Don't take me too lightly."

"What happened Sasuke? What happened with you and your brother?"

There were tears in his eyes, either from frustration or grievance of his brother. "…It wasn't my fault."

She would have asked what it was that wasn't his fault, but she was more concerned about if he would be okay or not. His shoulders were slumped over now, his head hanging low. "It wasn't my fault…"

Her feet carefully took her closer to him. "Let's forget that I'm the Interrogator and you're the criminal. You can talk about whatever you want Sasuke, I'll listen."

Honestly, he reminded her of a small child. Yelling to get his way, never being straightforward. It's like he never grew up.

"That's right, you just want answers right?" She would never say it out loud, for it might hurt is pride, but Sasuke Uchiha was rather pitiful. "Well just stop. You can let me die."

Sure she wanted him to live, but she also didn't want to go back home.

"I don't just want answers." She threw the notebook out of her hands carelessly, showing him she didn't really care about it. "I really do want to help you Sasuke."

"I don't need your help." Yes, he _was_ just like a child. Wanting to be independent at the wrong times, only to fall back down again.

"Alright." Kimiko wanted to be persistent, but she was afraid of being too pushy, so she let it go. "So let's talk about your dreams again then. Is there anything you want to become?"

"Does dead count?"

Just like a mother receiving attitude from her son, that's what it all seemed like.

"Besides being dead, what do you _want_ Sasuke?"

He kept quiet, secretly thinking about what it is that he really wanted.

"Think all the way back, what was the one thing you were lacking?"

She saw his thin eyebrows furrow when he saw a picture of his family. Memories replayed in his head.

There was laughter and bright colors everywhere. He remembered how he automatically smiled when he saw his brother coming to pick him up from the academy. Whenever he brought home good grades, his mother would make him whatever he wanted for dinner, and treated him like a king for the night. There was his family, grinning brightly.

Just thinking about it made him want to smile one more time.

One corner of his lip leaned up, coming right back down. Even if he did smile, something was missing. It just didn't feel the same.

"So that's what you really want Sasuke." Kimiko thought about what Kakashi had said earlier, how she tries to hide her emotions. And with this man, she wanted to learn how to escape from the fear. She crouched down to his level and smiled. "Happiness."


	10. Chapter 10

_Demons Have Tears Too._

* * *

><p>Fifty more days.<p>

Unfortunately for Kimiko, she had to miss eight days to work in the hospital. They were running short on nurses and even though Tsunade insisted they didn't need her to work, she was persistent on staying.

All the while, she kept thinking about Sasuke's outburst from a week ago, trying to figure out what he really meant. Sure she wanted to save lives in the hospital, but she was still worried sick about what she would do about Sasuke's case.

"…Ko? Kimiko!"

Her head snapped up, forgetting about her notes for now.

"I've been calling your name for a while now." She lightly bowed at Tsunade, which made her blond eye brows knit together. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine, why do you ask?"

In those two years that Tsunade took care of her, this was the first time she bowed to her like this. Sure she showed her respect but not like this, not in public.

"Never mind that, we have a big operation to follow through."

The solemn girl stood up, dragging her feet over to the operation room.

Then all of the information she gathered on Sasuke poured into her head. They latched onto her, not willing to let go.

_'Fifty more days.'_

She was too focused on being an interrogator that she didn't even notice she was in the emergency room now. As much as she wanted to push everything out of her head, they crowded around on tightly, not willing to let go without a fight.

"Here are your gloves." One of the other nurses handed her a pair of latex gloves, glaring at her as she did so.

Kimiko ignored it and pulled them on, wanting to get this over with.

But all the while, not only did the information on Sasuke bother her, but something else did too.

"We're treating Takashi Shizuka. He has coronary heart disease and we're planning to open the blocked blood vessels." Tsunade informed everybody in the room, which wasn't too many.

Angioplasty might be tedious operation but it was a fairly safe one too.

"Kimiko, keep a sight on the heart monitor."

"Yes ma'am." She tugged her dark locks behind her ear, trying to keep her attention on what's going on on the heart monitor and not what's going on in her head.

Immediately, the legendary medical-nin cut open the man's chest carefully.

Her star pupil watched, wondering why she wanted to savor this moment so much.

She felt all sorts of things she hadn't felt in a long time.

Hopelessness. Thankful. Maybe even a little sad.

What was her body trying to tell her?

"Kimiko!" The loud roar snapped the ravenette out of her trance. Her eyes widened when she looked over to the heart monitor. "Help me now!"

The taunting sounds of the racing heart beat sent her in a panic. He was having a heart attack.

Kimiko looked down to the patient's blocked blood vessel, forgetting how to do anything for a second.

"Kimiko, place the wire in _now_." The blond lady said with a stern voice, trying to bring this girl back to this world.

His heart beat faster, acting as a clock. Time was running out, and it was against her.

Just as she reached out to place the guide wire in, something stopped her.

_Beeeeep._

Her whole body froze and nobody moved in the room.

She was both in shock and helplessness, everybody knowing very well why too.

"…Kimiko, why don't you take the day off?" More than a question, it sounded like a command.

She peeled off her gloves and turned to leave the room. Even though she tried hard to reject it, tears formed in her eyes quickly.

It was always easy for her in the operation room. Her body naturally moved and acted like it was supposed to, resulting to a happy and healthy patient. Today wasn't supposed to be any different, but something just bothered her enough to throw her off.

Once she was outside, she wiped her tears away. But she didn't make any progress when more formed in her crimson orbs.

This was the first time she had let someone die.

* * *

><p>"I might not know how long it has specifically been, but I know it's been a while." Somehow, this boy made 'I'm tied down to the ground and haven't showered in days' look good. "Why didn't-…"<p>

When she clicked on the flashlight, he could see her eyes were blood shot. Kimiko didn't seem like the type to cry, or show emotions at all. But here she was, openly approaching him even when she was like this.

Before he could ask her what's wrong, he stopped his self.

She was an interrogator, he was a criminal. Why should they care about each other in any way?

"…I can basically see the burden weighing down your shoulders."

There was a tiny smile that formed on her lips, but it left as fast as it came.

"What do you want me to do?"

It sounded more like a plea then a question.

"What are you talking about?"

"I just don't get you. You don't just want to die, there's another part to it." Finally, she looked up to him. He felt her eyes digging deeply into his, hoping for answers. "Are you ever going to tell me?"

The despair in her eyes made him look away in shame. Was it his fault she was crying?

"Look, I don't even know why I'm still in here. Why haven't they killed me by now?" The raven haired man heard her lightly sniffling. "You're an interrogator right? Don't you people have a deadline for things like this?"

"You don't even know the half of it."

It wasn't just a deadline to saving him, it was also a deadline to saving herself.

"Look, we're hooked together right now." She pointed to him and then back to her. "If you go down, I go down with you."

He squinted, letting her know he was lost.

"There's…" She didn't know whether or not she should tell him about the contract. The troubled girl worried that maybe he would think she was selfish for wanting to save her own butt. Plus, he wants to die right? Why would he waste his time saving her? "Somewhere I don't want to go."

She couldn't call it a home, it was far from it.

"And if you don't start talking soon, I'll be sent back to hell."

"Hell huh? Maybe that's why the ANBUs guarding outside call you the devil's child."

Kimiko scoffed, not surprised by the insult. "Trust me, that's nice compared to what others call me."

The handsome convict tilted his head a little, wondering what this girl was all about. They never really talked before, so it was hard to know anything about each other.

"If you tell me what I need to know, you can start over." The question was, did he even want a second chance in Konoha? "Think of it as a reset button."

"And what makes you think I even want that?"

"You have people that love you here Sasuke." Quite frankly, Kimiko was jealous of him. He had tons of people here that wanted him back, they would even fight for him. "Why would you throw that away?"

"I never asked for it."

"But they're giving it to you anyway. You actually have a decision to let it go or accept it." She looked down at her dark red fingernails. "You don't know how lucky you are, do you?"

"Well I have no interest in wasting my time with people."

"That's been your motto all your life. You wanted happiness, right Sasuke?" Her stare hardened but they remained focused on her short nails. "Your friends here, that's where you'll find it."

"Friends?" He whispered quietly and then smirked. "What makes you think they-"

"They _are_ your friends Sasuke. They want to save you so bad, and I don't get why you wouldn't just willingly come back!" Kimiko raised her voice, feeling a little angry at how dense he was.

"And when did you pick my friends? You don't even know me, _Interrogator_."

"Your family died right?" She saw him immediately inhale deeply. "I get it, I know, they were the people that always wanted to see you when you got home. And you went back because you wanted to see them too right? That's where happiness was for you Sasuke."

"Don't try to tell me those kinds of things, you don't even know me."

"I never had that, I didn't have people that wanted me back. Even if I ran, nobody would chase after me." Fuzzy pictures of her parents flashed through her mind. "At least you had a family that loved you. And now you have other people that want to be close to you."

"Don't put them on the same level as my family." He was really the epitome of stubbornness.

"Whether you like it or not, I'm not going to let you die. What would they do if they found out that I'm the cause of your death?"

"They already hate you right? I guess you have nothing to lose."

Even if it was true, it still hurt to hear it out loud. Actually, she was surprised at his bluntness but smiled lightly anyway. "I would lose you."

That sure shut him up.

"I already let someone die today." There was a bomb ticking away inside of her, every second being a step closer to hell. "I'm _not_ letting you die Sasuke."

She knew she was walking down a path towards the devil's den, she just didn't know how to turn.


End file.
